The gas supply across the country has been cut short by 15 hours. The federal government decided on Sunday that the consumers will now receive gas three times a day only.
Citizens in both big cities and small towns will now have access to gas supply only three times a day at a time when the winter season has approached. People of Pakistan are facing gas load-shedding in winters, electricity outages in summers, and to make things worse, prices of firewood and LPG have also soared.
As the temperatures are dropping, the gas supply to Lahore and its adjoining areas has been significantly reduced. Gas is now supplied for three hours in the morning; two-and-a-half hours in the afternoon and three hours in the evening.
Citizens battling inflation are complaining that they cannot afford food at restaurants, and have also been forced to purchase gas cylinders to prepare meals. As per reports officials from the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) have shared that the demand in Lahore Region has surpassed 250 million cubic feet, while the department has no option but to cut short the supply hours significantly.
According to reports, the demand has increased especially after people have started using geysers due to the drop in temperature. Similarly, in Rawalpindi, Islamabad, and their suburbs, the gas supply is insufficient against the demand by domestic consumers.
People are demanding that authorities should make sure they are provided with an adequate gas supply. A huge number of people in Karachi have been left with no choice but to buy firewood to prepare their meals.
Meanwhile, the supply of gas to CNG stations in Sindh and Balochistan was suspended for a 24-hour period at 8 AM on Sunday. The conditions are similar in the cities of Punjab. In Gujranwala, the price of firewood costing Rs700 per maund has jumped up to Rs1000 per maund.
Similarly, in Hafizabad consumers are suffering due to gas load-shedding that has hit 20 hours a day. These circumstances have forced people to buy LPG cylinders and firewood. Residents of Narowal and its surrounding areas are only surviving on gas supply for only four hours a day.
